Page 20 of Pack Ruin
“You don’t need to—ooh, that’s the spot. Harder, rightthere.” How was he finding every little knot of tension without me saying a word?
Glen’s incredible at this, I thought, as my brain started to fizz. Wherever his bare hands met my skin, the whirlpool feeling I’d always gotten from him started up in my center, but somehow calmer this time.
His murmur felt like velvet on my skin as he leaned over me, slowly working the muscles down my spine in small, rolling movements. “If you accept me, princess, I’ll do this every day. Any time you feel stress, any time you’re sore, I’ll rub youuntil you feel nothing but pleasure. Let you set the pace, spend every bit of my energy taking care of you. You deserve this. You deserve love.”
My heart raced a little as I thought about all the times Glen had blurted out that he loved me. Had he meant that?
There was no other explanation. He’d left his pack, his family, his home, to follow me. When I thought about it, I wasn’t certain I could say I loved him. But I could someday. I might already, a little.
I rolled until I was facing him. His blue eyes were wide, the pupils enormous as he took in my naked breasts. “Flor?”
My mouth had gone dry. There was no way I could ask for what I wanted, so I decided to let my body do the talking. With my hands on his wrists as he hovered over me, I arched my back up slightly, tilted my head so the unmarked side of my neck was exposed to him, and waited.
10
At Last, Enough
GLEN
For my entire life, I’d known I wasn’t enough.
My father and mother were so strong, so capable, and I’d accepted that I would never measure up, not really. I had plenty of power, but none of the relentless ambition my parents possessed.
I had inner strength, but it wasn’t something to boast of. Especially when the closest friends I had were far stronger. Brand’s burgeoning Alpha power had made my knees tremble a little the first time I met him, though we’d still been children. These days, with his eyes shining like twin moons, he seemed even more obviously one of the Moon Goddess’s most blessed.
Finn had always been suave and sophisticated, far more politically astute than I could hope to be, with an array of dark talents that I wished he’d never had to learn. But I was thankful he called me a friend, as his loyalty knew no bounds. He would kill to protect me… and those he loved.
I’d known from the first day I met Flor that I was not worthy of her. She was fierce and wild, strong in ways I’d neverimagined someone so young could be. And all I wanted to do was make her smile.
Well, maybe not all. I also wanted to make her cry out in pleasure, fall apart on my tongue, and look at me with even half the love that shone in her amber eyes as she gazed at Brand.
Of all the Heirs, I was the joker, the comedian. But right now, I couldn’t even muster a smile. Flor was baring her throat, offering herself to me. I had to be certain she knew what her posture meant. And then I had to be absolutely certain that she knew I in no way deserved to claim her, or to wear her claim in return.
“Love, what are you doing? What arewedoing?”
Her eyes snapped to mine, and a small smile played around the corners of those mysterious pink lips. “Glenda, for a wolf with your reputation, you’re awfully slow on the uptake. I’m asking you to fuck me. Fuck me, and bite me. Claim me.”
“I… I can’t,” I rasped, my throat suddenly dry.
She went still. “What do you mean? You don’t want me?” I could see her closing up, almost feel her shrinking inside.
“No, Flor! I want you more than I want to breathe. But I don’t deserve you.” A droplet of water landed on her cheek. No, a tear. I let them fall, unashamed. I wouldn’t hide anything from her. “You need mates who are stronger than you, or as strong. Ones who can protect you, who’ll never dishonor you.”
“Mates like Luke?” she mocked.
I shook my head. “Like Brand is. Like Finn will be. They have so much to offer y?—”
One of her hands moved from my wrist to my lips, shushing me. “Glen. You said you loved me. Was that true?” I nodded immediately. “Do you love me enough to stay with me, no matter what’s coming? To…” She blushed, but forged ahead. “Enough to share me with Brand, and Finnick, and maybe even Luke and Grig?—”
I shook my head. “Not him, Flor. You don’t know what he is. What he’s done.”
I could tell she wasn’t impressed. She shrugged. “Okay, then. With the other Heirs. Do you love me enough to put up with all my shit, and still smile at me at the end of the day?”
“For the rest of my life, no matter how long that is,” I vowed.
Her smile crept back. “Then that’s all you need to say to deserve me. I want you. I want you to claim me, and I want to claim you back. Because I’ll do the same. I’ll stay with you and fight for you, even if every stupid fuckhole of a pack on the continent chases you out for being a rogue. Even if we have to go somewhere, all of us, and form a pack of our own. I want to do it all with you.”
We both went silent for a long moment, my heart pounding loud enough to hear, hers shining in her eyes.
